Eve gets a good long look at Nate
The next morning, Nate stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel, and heard
the doorbell.
"Damn!"
He considered ignoring the untimely intrusion. Then he remembered a recent
order from an electronics company, one that would require his signature.
After tossing the towel aside, he pulled on his sweatpants, tugging the
waist cord as he trotted down the steps. When he yanked open the front door,
Eve was looking down at the step, ready to turn around and leave.
First, she stared at his bare feet. Then she lifted her gaze to long legs
covered in worn-out gray sweats hanging loosely on his hips. Above the
waistband, dark hair covered a flat abdomen. The hair disappeared as her
eyes moved upward, and she stared at the smooth skin covering a muscular
torso. The trail of hair resumed a narrow path between his rib cage and
spread across a powerful chest. Sporadic drops of water clung to flesh and
follicles. Broad shoulders, strong arms, a smiling mouth, and a disheveled
crop of wet hair completed her image of the man standing in the doorway.
After Wade
Simmons attacks Eve, she lashes out at Nate
When he opened the door to the small waiting room, Eve and Katie sat on a brown vinyl sofa, looking down at magazines.
Besides wearing scrubs, Eve appeared to be okay. Nate's heartbeat slowed for
the first time since she had called.
Then she looked up at him and his heart ripped apart. Bruises masked her
delicate cheekbones. Split, puffy lips created a pout she couldn't change.
One eye struggled to see through dark, swollen flesh. Marks on her neck told
him that someone had tried to choke the life out of her ...
... Nate opened a cabinet and
pulled out a skillet. Frying pan in hand, he turned as Eve walked into the
kitchen. A long, loose cotton dress covered most of her body, but the
daylight accentuated the bruising on her face and neck. He banked his anger
for the man who deserved it.
Barefooted, she stood at the counter next to Katie. The pain pill hadn't
kicked in and her mood matched the soreness racking her body.
He put mugs of coffee, spoons, milk, and sugar in front of them. "How's the
pain?"
"Sufferable." She added sugar to her coffee. "Why don't I remember going to
bed last night?"
"You fell asleep on the porch, so I carried you there."
"Did you hover over me during the night?"
"I followed the discharge instructions and put cold packs on your face and
ribs, When you woke up, I gave you some meds."
"Including the one in the little envelope?"
"Especially the one in the little envelope. After that, you went back to
sleep."
Eve
vaguely remember Nate helping her to and from the bathroom, bringing her
water, and handing her pills. In her frame of mind, she rejected the idea of
tenderness from any man, including him. Her tone conveyed her cynical
disposition. "You missed your calling, Dunlevy. You should have gone into
nursing instead of battle."
The jab surprised Katie, but she said nothing.
Nate kept his cool and cracked eggs into a bowl. "Soldiers have been known
to serve as medics for a wounded buddy."
Eve watched him beat the eggs with a fork. "Apparently, soldiers do anything
they want. I see you've taken over my kitchen."
Although his eyes went cold, his voice remained calm. "Had I done everything
I wanted to do, Wade Simmons would not have come after you again."
"Is that so?"
His control slipped and his voice became loud. "I could have done something
to prevent this!" The moment he said it, Nate regretted the outburst. Eve
didn't need his guilt dumped on her.
"Oh, here we go!" she shouted. "Now this is all about you." He tried to
apologize but she cut him off. "Why do men assume that whatever happens to a
woman, good or bad, revolves around them. The attitude must stem from those
uncontrollable sex organs hanging between your legs."
Nate raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Expressing anger was therapeutic.
Eve walked around the counter and stood toe-to-toe with him. She poked her
finger against his chest. "I'm the stupid one who dated the jerk. I'm the
dumb ass who climbed into bed with the bastard. I'm the nitwit who didn't
tell the police about him ...
She reached into the egg carton and hurled one across the room. The egg
smashed against a wall and pain radiated through her body.
While they watched a yellow yoke ooze down the kitchen wall, Nate handed her
another egg.
Nate goes 'inside' as Buck Walters to set
up Wade Simmons and learn about hate crimes
The next
morning a guard banged his nightstick on the bars of the cell. He
had ebony skin, a shaved head, over two hundred pounds of solid muscle, and
a mean face.
The guard bellowed, “Walters!"
He held a pair of cuffs connected with chain. "Come with me. Now!"
The inmates exchanged looks as Buck reluctantly slid off his bunk. Before
leaving the cell, he was told to shackle his ankles. Then the guard forced
him to walk in front, shoving the stick into his lower back, prodding him to
move more quickly despite the chain impeding his steps. He escorted Buck to
a small cinder-block room with a steel door, no windows, and a dented metal
table. No one could see or hear what happened inside the four walls. When
the guard slammed the door, it locked automatically. He slapped the club
against the palm of his hand. "Strip!"
Buck lowered his eyes and began unfastening his orange prison uniform. Then
he started laughing.
"You think this is funny?"
"Yes. You're overacting, Isaac."
The men smiled and grasped hands. Isaac put his club on the table, reached
into his pockets, and removed several items. "I hope you enjoyed your
communal shower this morning. It'll have to last until we get you out of
here."
"I'll make the sacrifice. That's a scary place."
Isaac handed him a small recorder and cut several strips of adhesive tape.
Nate let the jumpsuit fall to the floor and strapped the device to the
inside of his thigh just beneath his crotch. When the recorder was securely
in place, he pulled up his prison suit and attached a small voice activated
microphone inside the seam of his waistband ...
... Isaac picked up the club and walked to the door. "I'm real sorry about
what happened to Eve O'Connor. Your brother mentioned that you have feelings
for her."
Nate slipped the bible inside his jumpsuit and shrugged. "Right now, she's
avoiding me. Sucking up to Wade Simmons won't help that situation."
"I hope this helps both of us."
"Me too, Isaac. Before you open that door, hit me in the face. Hard."
Isaac shook his head. "I wish you were a man like Simmons, so I could enjoy
this." He made a fist and pulled back his arm. A second later, bone collided
with bone. Nate should his head to clear his vision. The men clasped hands
and returned to their roles as prisoner and guard.
Nate and his brother find trouble near
Clayton, GA
While waiting for their
sandwiches, they heard tires spit
gravel as a pickup truck with a crew cab pulled into the parking lot. Nate
and Devon watched through the window as four large men in
hunting gear stepped out of the truck. One showed interest in the South
Carolina van parked in front while the others took a leak at the edge of the
parking lot. Then the foursome walked around the van, posturing for each
other.
Devon shook his head. "Add up
the IQs and they still wouldn't make the sharpest pencil in the cup."
"Is it hunting season?" Nate
asked.
"Small game only."
"Who in their right mind
walks into the woods when guys like that are carrying loaded guns?"
"Ask our former vice
president."
Nate cracked up. "I forgot
about him."
The hunters
came through the door and stood at the diner's entrance.
The heaviest one asked, "You
two belong to that van parked outside?"
Knowing Charleston County
Department of Corrections was printed on the vehicle, Devon asked, "Why?
You lookin' for your momma?"
Nate rolled his eyes.
He murmured, "Sorry, just
slipped out."
The hunter persisted, "Answer
the question, smart mouth. Is that your van?"
Before his brother could
reply, Nate said, "No harm done. We were just leaving."
Devon whispered, "You
carrying?"
"No. You?"
He shook his head. "Who'd
have thought?"
Another hunter called out,
"Looks like you's running from the law."
Devon laughed. "Sure, pal,
that's why we're driving around in a paddy wagon."
Realizing the absurdity was
lost on the group, Nate rolled his eyes again.
The first hunter looked at
his friends. "I'll bet there's a big-ass reward for these bums."
Nate tossed out an
explanation. "We're off duty guards from the ..."
One of the hunters pulled out
a hunting knife and the other three followed his lead.
Refuge on Hilton Head Island
An hour later, the boat
docked in a harbor on Hilton Head Island. They disembarked near a striped
lighthouse that marked the entrance to a large marina filled with luxury
yachts, cabin cruisers, sleek sailboats, and sport-fishing vessels. In
adjacent buildings, dozens of tourists wandered through shops or dined in
restaurants. Devon pointed to a sign that directed them to the trolley stop.
They followed the sign, found a line of people waiting, and paired off
before mixing into the crowd. After a four-mile ride, they stepped off the
trolley near a cluster of red and blue wooden buildings.
Eve scanned the small village, one that reminded her of an old New England
fishing town. Pleasure boats floated in the marina, shops and restaurants
occupied the two-story buildings, and a friendly outdoor bar took center
stage on a large deck that overlooked the waterway. Logs burned in an
outdoor fire pit and bartenders served drinks to the people gathered around
on stools, many of whom appeared to be locals
Devon spotted a wooden sign for the local inn. "That's the rental company.
Blend in while I register and order me a beer."
They placed the heavy totes and laden purses beneath a table where Eve and
Katie sat down. Nate found a spot at the bar and stood, monitoring the
activity around them.
Ten minutes later, Devon returned with an envelope and took an open spot
next to Nate. When Katie glanced in his direction, he winked.
"That habit will get you into serious trouble some day, Dev."
He grunted. "I'll pay dearly for the innocent twitch at the lieutenant."
"Your timing sucked, but I admired your comeback."
Devon took a long swallow of beer. "Eve began that clever diversion to break
the tension ... mostly yours."
Nate looked at him skeptically.
He shrugged. "If you don't believe me, ask her." ...
.
... The weathered-gray house
was one of many duplexes that sat on the farthest point from the island's
bridge. From the rear of the house, Devon could see Daufuskie and several
other barrier islands. Braddock Cove sliced through marshes to his right;
the tides of the Calibogue Sound flowed swiftly in front and to his left.
Nate and Eve walked up the beach bordering the Calibogue Sound. Devon stood
on the back deck until Nate spotted him. Then he went inside. Soon, all four
settled into the house, away from the scrutiny of the outside world and
those who wanted to harm them.
copyright: DAWELCH, LLC
2007-2009